His tongue pressed flat against her clit and her world exploded into a million pieces of light that shattered and sparkled. A shudder of pleasure ripped through her as she cried out.

He lay his rough cheek against her stomach as she slowly spun back to earth.

She squeezed him with her legs and stroked his short hair. “Shane.”

“Just give me a moment. I’m trying to be a gentleman about this. You’ve had a tough day and not a lot of sleep recently. I’m looking for the strength to walk away without doing something you might regret tomorrow.”

Her heart gave a little flutter. A warning shot across the bow. This man had lost so much and right now he needed her as much as she needed him.

“I don’t plan to regret anything,” she said gruffly. “Not after the last few weeks. Life’s too short.”

He tensed at her words and she thought he was going to pull away again.

18

People didn’t live forever and wasting opportunities like this topped the stupid list. Yael’s words reminded him he’d lost two people he cared about in the last two weeks.

And, if he was honest with himself, he’d never been as desperate to get inside someone as he was to get inside Yael right now. Making her come had made him dizzy with lust. She’d turned him on with her mix of insecurity and wanton enjoyment. Despite everything, she’d trusted him to make her feel good. To get her to that place they both wanted to go.

A lot of the women he’d dated lately treated sex like a series of expected choreographed moves that they’d read in a magazine or seen in a TV show. More than one had asked him to handcuff her to the bedposts, which he could deal with as long as they had their own fluffy cuffs and didn’t expect to use his.

Nothing seemed choreographed or planned with this woman. She’d obviously assumed that coming downstairs in her plaid pajamas would be some kind of turn off, but apparently, he had some sort of previously unknown LL Bean fetish.

They worked together but they were not coworkers.

A relationship wasn’t against any rules.

Soon he’d be going back to the team and he’d probably lose the opportunity to be with this woman—and he didn’t like that thought.

She intrigued him.

And if he was being a little disingenuous about why he’d attached himself to her in the first place? His concerns had proven unfounded and he knew they were on the same page about catching this killer. And he certainly wasn’t faking his attraction for her. He was so hard even his head hurt. And she knew he wasn’t interested in anything long term.